At this point, it’s tough to still describe French OEM Archos as an “up and coming” Android device maker; with several affordable, well-received Android devices under its belt, its fair to view it as the veteran Android vendor that it is.

Now, we get even more goodness from Archos, this time in the manifestation of a new high-end device: the Archos 50d Oxygen Smartphone.

Archos chief Loic Poirier talks about the new device’s premium leanings. â€œThe Archos 50d Oxygen is the epitome of sleek, functional and modern,â€ he says. â€œThe smooth exterior with gold accents emanates a truly high-end feel which make it an essential part of our Oxygen line.â€

ARCHOS has elbowed its way to becoming an Android mainstay, and at the ongoing Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, it has just made some interesting announcements.

First, it just released details on a new type of storage technology called “Fusion Storage.” From the press release:

A revolutionary and unique technology, ARCHOS Fusion Storage optimizes data storage by fusing internal memory with external micro SD card memory. Once activated, ARCHOS Fusion Storage automatically migrates data from the micro SD card and optimizes memory balance, resulting in an increase in install space for apps and games, as well as more storage for media and large files.

ARCHOS Fusion Storage will be available on all new ARCHOS tablets and smartphones, including the new Magnus tablets, and through Over-The-Air updates on select models.

And, the aforementioned Magnus tablets are new as well, and some variants will reportedl be the first tablets to pack 256 GB of storage.

The ARCHOS 94 Magnus and ARCHOS 101 Magnus Plus feature 256 GB and 128 GB of internal storage respectively and enthralls users with amazing HD graphics and outstanding app and media experience without worrying about running out of space for their files, music, games or pictures.

Whether watching an HD movie, surfing the web or gaming in HD, the Magnus tablets completely immerse you into another world. The ARCHOS 101 Magnus Plus and 94 Magnus feature super powerful Cortex A17 quad-core processors capable of running apps and games smoothly while remaining energy efficient for even longer battery life.

The ARCHOS 101 Magnus Plus 128 GB will be available in April 2015 for $349. The ARCHOS 94 Magnus 256 GB will also be available in April 2015 exclusively on the archos.com online store for $349. ARCHOS will also be launching the ARCHOS 101 Magnus â€“ the first tablet with 64GB of internal storage for $179.

As noted above, these tablets will begin to be available in April 2015.

The Android tablet market has had a massive divide so far: on one side, the tablets with the latest Android software optimized for tablets and larger screens; these tablets have been more expensive, costing around $400 at the minimum. On the flip side are cheaper Android tablets with smaller 7-inch screens; these usually boast Android 2.x, which was not optimized for tablets, or feature custom UIs built on top of Android. There really hasn’t been a tablet to this point that has been an entry-level device with a vanilla tablet-optimized version of Android. Until now, that is.

Archos has announced their newest Android tablet: the ARCHOS 70b Internet Tablet. It is a 7-inch tablet, with a 1024×600 rsolution screen. It runs Android 3.2 Honeycomb, and has Android Market access, making it about as legitimate an Android device as possible. It comes with a 1.2 Ghz processor, 512 MB of RAM, an HDMI output, microSD slot, and 8 GB of storage built-in. This tablet will cost $199 at retail starting in January.

There are two obvious drawbacks here: first, it’s not in stores for the lucrative holiday season, especially with the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet trying to snatch up the budget tablet market. Second, while it is using a true version of Android, it is still behind the current version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Obviously, being an OS designed for tablets, it’s less antiquated than Android 2.x tablets are at this point, but it’s still a budget device being released behind the latest OS. Still, considering how Honeycomb’s true Android tablet experience has been limited to only a certain subset of devices, and how lower-priced options have been excluded from that subset, it seems useful to see a low-cost device providing this experience to potential Android tablet users. As well, this is one of the few budget devices to actually provide Android Market access, which devices like the Kindle Fire notably eschew.